Cause the Grass Don’t Grow and the Sky Ain’t Blue at Praz-Delavallad

When we talk about art movements, we inevitably talk about the metropolis. We talk about Andy Warhol's new York in the 80s, Paris in the 20s, hell, Rome in the Renaissance. But the fetishization of the urban space creates a system of artistic hierarchy that leaves those at the fringes - literally, those creatives who live on the outskirts of the city - unable to express their own movements, aesthetics, and ideas. The 27 artists of "Cause the Grass Don't Grow and the Sky Ain't Blue" operate and imagine from the margins of the urban scene: the suburbs. Out here at the edge of the city, one can see more clearly (and not just because of the smog). From the suburbs, these artists identify and wrestle with the city's illusions, fixations, and power structures (both in the art world and outside of it). They see how the city seeks to highlight certain voices, creating the "movements" we take for granted, while other voices are left unnoticed and unheard. In that space, the artists in "Cause the Grass Don't Grow" are able to make work that reverberates with the fresh life of being an outsider. Whether through abstract painting, metal sculpture, or negative photography, these artists reshift focus from the metropolis, calling into question its conditions and subverting its dominion over the art world.

The exhibition was curated by Clémence Duchon and Flavie Loizon. This exhibition will show the works of 27 artists including Mustafah Abdulaziz, Pierre Ardouvin, Rana Begumnd Guy Yanai; all of whom have called into question the systems in art which organize a hierarchy of materials and urban zones., Kadar Brock, Micky Clément, Petra Collins, Sam Durant, Antoine Espinasseau, Harry Gruyaert, Nils Guadagnin, Laurent Kronental, Thomas Lélu, Thomas Mailaender, John Miller, Robert Montgomery, François Morellet, Julien Nédélec, Amanda Ross-Ho, Viviane Sassen, Tony Stamolis, Thomas Struth, Juergen Teller, Ed Templeton, Thomas Vergne, Adrien Vescovi, Johannes Wohnseifer, and Guy Yanai; all of whom have called into question the systems in art which organize a hierarchy of materials and urban zones.

The opening will be on July 7 at Praz-Delavallade 5, Rue Des Haudriettes, 75003 Paris.